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<title>- i slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door - by so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29149755">- i slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door -</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where/pseuds/so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where'>so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Betrayal, Depressing, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Partner Betrayal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:08:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29149755</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where/pseuds/so_far_away_in_the_middle_of_no_where</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>- </p><p>His eyes widened in shock as the barely audible words passed your lips.</p><p>"Don't touch me."  </p><p>Reiner slowly drops his calloused palm from your cheek, catching a tear that had dropped from your damp eyes.  He steps back from you, the emotion dropping from his face.  </p><p>If you were to treat him like a monster, then that is what he would become.</p><p>-</p><p>After your family's bakery goes out of business, your family can no longer afford to feed you and your little sister.  You volunteer to join the 104th Cadet Corps in an attempt to relieve your family's burden.</p><p>Training is hard and you seem to be bad at just about everything.  In your effort to survive training, you make an unlikely friend in the stoic blonde who seems to excel at everything.  Everything is perfect...until it isn't.</p><p>- </p><p>Theme Song:  From Eden - Hozier</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reiner Braun &amp; Reader, Reiner Braun/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>151</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. - there's something tragic about you -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>there’s something tragic about you</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Honey, you don’t have to do this. Your father and I will find a way to make this work.”</p><p>Your mother’s trembling voice makes you drop the shirt you were folding. You had nearly finished packing your meager belongings into a small sack before she had arrived. “This is my decision mom. I’m doing this because I want my sister to have a better life without worrying where her next meal is coming from.”</p><p>“I understand you doing this for Ava, but the military? That’s too much. I don’t wanna see my daughter come home to me in a casket, or worse, in pieces.” Your mother’s arms were crossed and a handkerchief was clutched in her right fist. Her hair had grayed almost overnight and she looked as though she had aged five years from the week before. The stress of trying to put food on the table for a family of four when the family bakery shut down had finally caught up to her.</p><p>You blinked away tears and finished folding the shirt you had dropped earlier and slipped it into your sack. “It’s not that easy mom. I heard you and dad talking last night after dinner, I know how bad it is.” Refusing to look back up at your mother, you toss your bag onto the floor next to your shoes. “I’m leaving tonight with the rest of the recruits from town.”</p><p>Your mother choked back a sob and pulled you into a crushing hug. “I love you, but I can’t let you do this.” Wrapping your arms around her shaking form, you promise her everything will be fine.</p><p>“This isn’t your decision to make,” you whisper. Your mother crumples to the floor, grasping at the fabric of your skirt and begging you to change your mind. For a second, you almost cave and dump the contents of your sack out onto your bed. You consider forgetting all about the military and finding work to support your family. Shaking your head, you pull your mom back up to her feet.</p><p>Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you walk out the door, leaving your life and family behind. It’s not easy, but when you see your little sister’s head peeking out of the window to watch you leave, you know you’ve made the right choice. She deserves the chance at a normal life. Making the journey to the town square, you hop into the back of a wagon with about ten other teens headed off to the cadet corps.</p><p>The ride was long and uncomfortable as you travelled across the countryside. Wall Rose loomed in the background in an almost mocking way. If not for Wall Maria falling to the Colossal Titan, your family bakery would still be in business. The refugees would never have poured in. The flour shortage would never have happened. You would have never had to make the choice to leave your family. In some way you almost expected Wall Rose to fall. If the titans could overtake Wall Maria with ease, what was stopping them from claiming her sister? Gritting your teeth you tear your eyes away from the wall and set your gaze on the setting sun. If humanity was doomed, you may as well take a few of those bastards out with you.</p><p>-</p><p>“Wake up dumbass, you’re here.”</p><p>You jolt up from your position on the floor of the wagon. The daylight blinded you as you squinted to find the source of the voice. A teen about your age was looming overtop of you, arms crossed, and eyes piercing. You stand up, grabbing your belongings before following the boy out of the wagon and into a clearing. “So um, who are you?” You hesitantly asked the boy who woke you up.</p><p>“My name is Eren,” he said, without even looking towards you. “I was gonna let you sleep through the opening remarks but Armin insisted I needed all the friends I could get.” Before you could ask who Armin was, Eren gestured towards a blonde boy in the center of the clearing.</p><p>“Judging by your attitude I’d say your friend is right,” you mutter. To his credit, Eren seemed to look a little ashamed at that statement. You follow him to meet up with Armin and their friend named Mikasa. You learn that they were all refugees from Shiganshina and were there when the Colossal Titan appeared.</p><p>“I hope Eren wasn’t too mean,” Armin said softly, “he can be a little rough around the edges but he means well.”</p><p>“It’s okay. I kind of deserved it for sleeping that long,” you say with a shrug. “So how much longer until someone decides to round us up and get this show on the road?”</p><p>“I’m not sure. We arrived a few hours before the recruits from your town and we were told to wait here until further notice,” Armin said as he surveyed the clearing. “I don’t see anyone with a uniform yet, but when I do we can ask.”</p><p>The four of you end up passing another hour talking until a loud voice cuts off the conversation. “Line up maggots! I don’t have all day!” Your three new friends and the recruits around you scurry to find some sort of orderly formation. The group ends up in fifteen sloppy lines and the instructor who yelled looks displeased at the mess. You glance around the field, realizing that you had been split up from your friends during the chaos.</p><p>“Attention Cadets! My name is Keith Shadis and you are the pathetic ass-wipes of the 104th Cadet Corps!” You gulp as the commander paces back and forth. His figure loomed over almost every cadet and his voice easily swallowed up any sound in the clearing. He stopped his pacing in front of Armin. “Hey mop-top! What do they call you maggot?!”</p><p>You find yourself impressed with Armin’s resolve as he hardly shakes under the verbal assault. I guess when your hometown is destroyed by monsters, a crotchety old man who needs to get laid is nothing. “Armin Arlet from Shiganshina, sir!”</p><p>Shadis leans over Armin yelling, “Cadet Arlet, why is a runt like you here?!”</p><p>“To help humanity overcome the titans!” The blonde boy yells back with resolve.</p><p>“That is delightful to hear! You’re gonna be a great light snack for ‘em!”</p><p>You hear snickering come from behind you and you turn to see who the sound came from. A tall teen with an undercut laughed, “Kid’s a skeleton, the only use a titan has for him is as a toothpick.”</p><p>
  <em>Don’t say anything Y/N, you need to lay low.</em>
</p><p>“Honestly I couldn’t even make a decent meal outta that guy.” The boy behind you just couldn’t shut up.</p><p>Losing your will to keep your damn mouth shut, you turn to the troublemaker behind you. “Can you seriously shut the fuck up? He’s from Shiganshina. Have some decency, his home was destroyed.”</p><p>You move to flip the offending teen off, but you’re cut off by Shadis yelling directly in your ear. “Got something to say maggot?! Just who the hell do you think you are?!”</p><p>The voice combined with the terrifying commander’s proximity cause you to jump backwards and trip over a rock. You begin to fall to the ground and brace yourself for impact. The ground, however, never meets your back. Instead, you feel strong arms wrapped around your waist. You look up to see who saved you, and you’re met with the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes you’ve even seen. Time seemed to stop completely as you lose yourself in his gaze. Though you had fallen, you felt like Icarus flying too close to the sun.</p><p>The realization of what happened came tumbling down as you registered the dead silence in the clearing. The arms around your waist tighten and you try not to think about how warm they feel against your body. You reach up to grasp the shoulder of your saviour in an attempt to stand up and save some face, however he beats you to it. The cadet who saved you helps you regain your balance and gives you a curt nod.</p><p>
  <em>So he’s strong AND respectful?</em>
</p><p>“Sweet Wall Maria Cadet! That has to be the saddest, most pathetic fucking thing these three walls have seen! Just how does your useless ass plan to get humanity back from the brink when you can’t even get a grip!”</p><p>Sighing, you cross your fist over your chest and summon your last shred of courage. “I am Cadet Y/N from Ragako Village, sir!”</p><p>Shadis cuts you some slack and moves on to terrorize another cadet in line. As he leaves, you breathe out a sigh of relief and slump over.</p><p>“Whoa there,” you look over wildly to make sure where the voice was coming from. Sure enough your savior had spoken. “Don’t make me save you twice sweetheart.” He shot you a shit-eating grin and for a second you forgot how to breathe.</p><hr/><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. - something so magic about you -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>something so magic about you</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Your thighs burn and shake.  <em> This is so much harder than I thought it would be </em>.  You can feel tears beginning to form but you bite them back.  There was no way in hell you were going to cry now.  Sweat drips down your forehead, stinging as it passes over a small cut by your eyebrow.  You couldn’t stop now, you were in too deep.</p><p>“Cadet Y/N are you seriously struggling already?!  You’ve been in your ODM for five fucking minutes!”  Commander Shadis’ voice snaps you from your state of concentration and you fall forward from your perch.  The cables thankfully held you high enough up that instead of making contact with the ground, your head dangled about two inches above.</p><p>You’re ready to scream in frustration.  This was your fourth attempt at balancing in the ODM today and for some reason you just could not get it.  Mikasa and Armin help you out of the mess of cables and you follow them to a corner of the clearing as Shadis pulls another cadet to take your spot.  You’re shaking with anger and frustration, “Why can’t I get it?!”  </p><p>“It’ll come eventually,” Mikasa offers, “you almost had it that last time.”</p><p>“It’s not fair though. Everyone else seems to be flying through this with ease,” you groan as you rest your forehead in your palm.</p><p>“Don’t worry Y/N,” Eren says, patting your back.  “We can set up the gear tonight and I’ll help you.  You’ll be a pro in no time!”  Armin and Mikasa both try to hold back laughter and Eren looks mortified at that.  “What’s so funny?”</p><p>“No offense Eren, but you’re almost worse than Y/N,” Armin says bluntly.  “You’d probably do more harm than good.”</p><p>“It’s like the blind leading the blind.”  The four of you look up to see that the voice came from Jean.  He was a fellow candidate and Eren’s self-proclaimed arch-nemesis.  Eren lunged at Jean, completely forgetting Mikasa and Armin’s teasing.  He tackled Jean to the ground and attempted to put him in a headlock.  The two rolled back and forth, unable to incapacitate the other.</p><p>“Alright maggots, ODM training is done for the night!  Supper is in exactly one hour!”  Shadis yelled, thankfully ending the session.  You plop on the ground, watching as your fellow cadets exit the clearing.  The blonde man who saved you from a fall on day one was tidying up ODM equipment by the practice set-ups.  <em> Maybe if I ask nicely he’ll leave out some stuff so I can practice tonight.  </em></p><p>Hyping yourself up, you hop up and walk over to the man.  “Excuse me,” you say softly.  He turns around, setting the O2 canisters he had been previously organizing onto the wooden table.  “Um, not to be a bother but could you leave a set of gear out?” You ask, refusing to meet his gaze.  </p><p>“Planning on flying out of here?” He asks playfully.  “If so I’ll leave two sets out and we can both say goodbye to this dumpster fire.”</p><p>You actually laugh at that.  “If you think I’m proficient enough to go anywhere on the ODM gear, then you’re either delusional or optimistic and I don’t know which is worse.”</p><p>“Definitely optimism,” he says with a shrug.  “The cold hard truth never crashes down when you’re crazy.”  He turns back to the table of gear and starts setting aside a harness and O2 canisters.  “But in all seriousness what are these for?”</p><p>“This is so embarrassing,” you mutter to yourself.  Raising your voice to address him you respond, “I need to practice so I don’t fail out of this God-forsaken training camp.”</p><p>He hums in response and turns to face you.  “You’re that determined?  Wouldn’t it be safer for you to return home?  Killing titans isn’t a walk in the park.”</p><p>Your mouth drops open and you cross your arms with a huff.  “Excuse me, but are you insinuating that I am incapable of killing titans?!”</p><p>The man laughs and drops the extra harness and gear into your arms.  “Not at all sweetheart.  But if it were up to me, a pretty thing like you wouldn’t have to dirty her hands.”</p><p>“Oh, and what would you have me do then?”  You ask angrily.  If this man had anything, it was the fucking audacity.</p><p>He glances you up and down before blushing.  “Uhm,” he trails off and stutters, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.  “I’m going to stop while I’m ahead.”</p><p>“That’s what I thought,” you whip around to stalk away from the man, mumbling to yourself about how bad you misjudged this man the other day.  You hear footsteps coming towards you and a voice calls out.</p><p>“Wait, Y/N!  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean all that.  I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind.”</p><p>You sigh and stop, turning around to face him once more.  “Go on.”</p><p>He wipes his hands on his pants and extends his right towards you.  “I think we started off on the wrong foot, let’s restart.  My name is Reiner and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”</p><p>You fumble with the gear in your hands until you free up your right hand to shake his.  He had a firm handshake, the calluses on his palms were rough against the blisters on your skin.  You worked in your parent’s bakery all your life and always had smooth skin.  The blisters were a new addition from the hours of training with blades and ODM gear.  Reiner seemed to notice your discomfort and held your hand palm-up to observe your wounds.  Gently maneuvering your hand around to assess the damage, Reiner hums to himself.</p><p>“We should go get you something for that,” he says as he swipes the gear from your left arm. You protest and move to grab it back from him but he extends it just out of your reach.  “You don’t get to fight me on this one sweetheart, those look pretty painful.”  </p><p>“I’m not completely helpless,” you mutter, “I could have carried all that.”  </p><p>Reiner shifts the gear into one of his arms and offers you the other with a light, “Shall we?”.  You hesitantly reach up to take his arm as he escorts you to the infirmary.  The walk is mostly quiet with the exception of the birds chirping.  The silence is broken when Reiner clears his throat and softly says, “Accepting help doesn’t make you weak.”</p><p>-</p><p>There is no one manning the infirmary so Reiner sets down the equipment and rummages through the cupboards for some salve.  “I don’t see how this is gonna make a difference,” you whine and he pulls a jar and some wraps down.  </p><p>“It’ll help it heal faster and keep it from getting infected,” Reiner says as he begins to gently slather some of the salve onto your blistered palms.  You hiss in pain, but let him work. “Sorry,” he murmurs, beginning to wrap your hands.  </p><p>You watch him work in amazement.  For such a large and intimidating man, Reiner was incredibly careful.  Though his hands absolutely dwarfed yours, his fingers were deft and nimble.  He tightened the bandages with an apology and tied them off.  “I hope that didn’t hurt too much,” Reiner hummed, his hands delicately holding yours.  </p><p>“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt bad,” you assure him.  A blush creeps up your face as you realize how close he was to you.  Suddenly the silence between the two of you is deafening and you find yourself fumbling for an excuse to get out of the room.  “We better go grab some food before Sasha gets it all.”</p><p>Reiner nods in agreement and steps away to gather the ODM gear that you both had abandoned at the door.  “I’m gonna let you take this,” he says as he hands you the gear, “but you have to promise me that you won’t overdo it tonight.”</p><p>“I need the practice.”</p><p>“So does everyone else,” Reiner insists.  “There’s no reason for you to torture yourself staying up into odd hours of the night with your hands in this shape.”</p><p>You snort and head out of the infirmary with the blonde on your heels.  “What, are you worried I might end up better than you if I work too hard?”</p><p>He laughs and shakes his head.  “You’re something else sweetheart.”</p><hr/><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. - don't you agree -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em> don’t you agree </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Shadis on a fucking stick this is so hard!” You yell as you pick up a rock and chuck it at the tree line.  It was nearly midnight and you had been practicing on the ODM gear for an hour.  You were so close to getting it, you could feel it.  The last attempt you had managed to stay up in the gear for almost ten minutes before you lost your balance and fell.  You were slowly starting to find your center of gravity, but you struggled to correct it after you lost it.</p><p>Clapping and cheers echo across the barren clearing. Your head shoots up to see that Armin, Mikasa, and Eren are making their way to you.  “Y/N you lasted so long in the gear that last time!”  Armin congratulated, patting you on the back.</p><p>“It’s not good enough,” you whine, “I’m still so far behind everyone else.”  </p><p>“Not everyone,” Mikasa says with a pointed stare at Eren.  The teen grumbles and kicks a rock by his foot. </p><p>“Thanks guys, but I just wanna make sure I can pass through this section.” You begrudgingly start removing your ODM gear and harness as your three friends crowd around you.</p><p>“I need to pass too,” Eren says softly.  “I’m worried I’ll be sent away if I can’t get this.”</p><p>“If you want you can practice right now,” you offer.  “I’m not too good at it, but I’ll try to spot you if you fall.”</p><p>Eren shook his head, “I think I’m gonna turn to the pros for help.  I was watching that Reiner guy the other day and he’s amazing on the gear.”</p><p>Reiner’s name brought back the memories from earlier today, when he had wrapped your hands and asked you to take it easy.  You turned almost beet red as you looked down at your palms.  The bandages were slightly dirty and stained red from some of your blisters popping open after your rough training session.  You were acutely aware of the stinging pain, but you chose to ignore it.  <em> Come on Y/N, you’re tougher than this. </em></p><p>“I think I’m gonna turn in for the night,” you say.  “I still have a few days to improve, and I think I’m slowly starting to get it.”</p><p>Armin smiled and hooked his arm in yours.  “Good, you need sleep and, personally, I could stand to get some rest.”</p><p>Mikasa and Eren followed you two back to the barracks.  Armin and Eren split off and headed to the boys wing, waving goodnight.  Mikasa heads off to the room she shares with Ymir and Annie.  You pad to your room and carefully crack open the door to make sure you don’t wake your roommates.  Krista and Sasha are thankfully still sound asleep, their snores covering the creaking floorboards as you tiptoe to your bunk. The second your head hits the pillow, you succumb to sleep.</p><p>-</p><p>You wake up to the sunlight streaming in the window, warming up your face.  Sitting up, you attempt to stretch and bite back a yelp of pain.  The extra ODM training was a bad call.  Every muscle in your body is tight and on fire from overexertion.  You groan, throwing your legs over the edge of the bed and standing up.</p><p>“Rough night?” Krista asks.  The blonde girl was wide awake, pulling on her boots.  </p><p>“You have no idea,” you grumble.  You decide to stretch to try and alleviate some of the soreness in your legs.  “This ODM business is a killer workout.”</p><p>“It really is,” she said with a light chuckle.  “Well I hope you’re in good enough shape to get to the mess hall before Sasha grabs our breakfast portions.  She left like twenty minutes ago.”</p><p>You nod and make quick work of changing into your cadet uniform and gear.  You and Krista are the last cadets to the mess hall.  Every table was crammed with people with only a few spots open here and there.  You both grab your share of bread and whatever mystery gruel the kitchen staff whipped up.  As you look for a seat you see Ymir waving from her seat and gesturing at the open spots near her.  Krista takes the seat closest to Ymir and you sit across from the two of them. </p><p>“Wow, you two really enjoy cutting it close,” Ymir teased, sliding a chunk of her bread to Krista. </p><p>Krista nibbled on the bread before answering.  “I needed my beauty sleep.”</p><p>“Aww,” Ymir responded, “you’re perfect already.  If you get any more beauty sleep, I’ll have no choice but to marry you on the spot.  We might have to dump this place and elope.”  She smooths Krista’s hair, tucking the loose strands back behind her ears.</p><p>“I can’t believe ya’ll would leave and not take me with you,” you whine, shoving your face with the bland gray mush in your bowl.</p><p>“Sorry,” Krista apologizes through a mouthful of food, “Ymir isn’t on the market, but I know someone who might be.”  She casts a meaningful nod to the table on your right.</p><p>Glancing over you see Eren and Jean arm wrestling as Reiner and Connie referee the competition.  You grimace, “I swear to Wall Sina if you try to set me up with Eren again I will personally-”</p><p>“Not him dipshit,” Ymir cuts you off.  “Eren hasn’t looked over here once since you walked in.  Reiner on the other hand hasn’t exactly been watching the arm wrestling match he’s supposed to oversee.”</p><p>You glance at Reiner and catch him nearly breaking his neck to look back at Eren and Jean.  A light blush is sitting on his cheeks and you can’t tell if it’s because of you or the warmth in the room.  “Come on you guys,” you whine, “don’t mess with me like that.  We hardly know each other.”</p><p>“Whatever you say chief,” Ymir shrugs.  “I don’t get paid enough to care either way.” That comment earns her an elbowing from Krista.</p><p>“Sorry about her,” Krista apologizes.  “Sometimes she forgets how to properly talk to people.”</p><p>Ymir rolls her eyes and stands up to grab Krista’s dirty bowl and place it in the dish return bucket.  When she gets back the three of you walk out to the training clearing and start setting up for ODM training.</p><p>You watch as your fellow cadets get up and practice.  For the most part everyone is shaky, but good enough to move on.  Reiner breezes through the practice and you find yourself admiring him as he concentrates.  His jaw is set tight as he easily balances in the mess of harness and wires.  His thighs are flexing with the effort to keep himself upright and you can’t help but appreciate the view.  You're knocked out of your admiration by Ymir nudging you with her shoulder.  You look up to see what she wants and she wiggles her eyebrows before flicking her gaze between you and Reiner.  “You got a little something right here,” she says, pretending to wipe the drool off of her own mouth.</p><p>You’re mortified when you realize that you had been dead staring at Reiner the entire time.  If Ymir noticed then the entire 104th Cadet Corps probably noticed.  You stare at your feet until Reiner’s turn is over and Eren is called up.  Watching Eren’s turn, you hold your breath as he appears to be balancing.  <em> Holy shit he actually did it. </em>  You’re impressed for a second until he loses it and face plants hard.</p><p>“Thank Wall Sina that head of yours is empty, otherwise humanity would have lost a valuable soldier!”  Commander Shadis yells.  “Cadet Y/N you’re next!”</p><p>Focusing on breathing in and out slowly, you try to not panic.  You make your way to the front and refuse to look at the group of cadets watching you.  The second you're hoisted up you manage to hold your balance.  Your core muscles and thighs are screaming from the extra hours you put in last night.  <em> Focus! Go to your happy place Y/N.  You can do this. </em>  You last about eight minutes before your aching muscles refuse to hold you up any longer.  </p><p>-</p><p>“There’s nothing to be ashamed about,” Mikasa says, handing you a bladder of water to drink.  “You lasted much longer than you did last time.  There’s no way Shadis won’t notice your improvement.”  Armin and Eren were unable to join your extra midnight practice session this time, however Mikasa was insistent on being there to stop you from overworking yourself.</p><p>You guzzle the water before responding.  It was a well earned reward after the hour you spent practicing in the ODM gear.  “I’m still not good enough Mikasa.”  She sighs in disappointment.  There was no use in trying to get you to take a night off of training.</p><p>“I’m heading to bed and you should too.  If I find out from Krista that you stayed out any later than you already have, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass.”  You watched Mikasa walk away.  She came off cold but, after getting to know her, you didn’t mind.  Even if she shows it in a weird way, she really does care. </p><p>You take another sip of water and freeze as you feel someone’s eyes on you.  <em> What the hell? </em>  You shudder and turn around swiftly, bumping into a sturdy figure.  “What the fuck Reiner? You scared me!”</p><p>“Sorry, I was out for a walk and thought I would offer my help.”  You glance him up and down in confusion.  <em> Why is he still in his harness and ODM gear? </em></p><p>You sigh, “Honestly?  That would be amazing.  I thought I could figure it out alone, but that doesn’t seem to be working.”  You walk back to the ODM setup, but Reiner stops you.</p><p>“I thought we could practice in the forest,” he offers.  “If you can manage to fly through the woods, this ODM rig should be a breeze.”</p><p>“Are you sure?  Shadis said to no-”</p><p>“Come on Y/N,” Reiner interrupted with a smirk, “are you really gonna let Shadis tell you what to do?”</p><p>You laugh at that and give a noncommittal shrug.  “You know what? Fuck it. Lead the way.”  You let out a squeal of surprise as the blonde scoops you up in his left arm and takes a running start to the small drop-off that separates the clearing from the forest.  “Reiner wait-”</p><p>You’re too late, he leaps off the drop-off and for a second you panic.  Closing your eyes, you brace yourself for impact.  Your legs instinctually wrap around Reiner’s waist and you cling to him for dear life.  <em> At least it’s not a far enough drop to do real damage.  Worst case scenario you have a broken leg. </em>  You slowly open your eyes as the impact never comes.  Reiner had shot a cable to the nearest tree, hurtling the two of you through the air.  “Not to complain sweetheart, but you're cutting off my air supply,” the blonde wheezes.</p><p>Sure enough, you had subconsciously wrapped your arms so tight around his neck that he was turning red.  “I’m so sorry!”  </p><p>He chuckles, swinging the two of you to a large tree branch about fifteen feet from the ground.  You look down and you cling to Reiner out of fear.  “I don’t know if I can do this,” you panic, “we’re so high up.”</p><p>“You can do this,” he insisted.  “I watched you in practice today, you have the balance and you know how to shoot the cables.  I’ll be right behind you the whole time, you won’t hit the ground.  I’ll make sure of it.”</p><p>“Okay,” you say, psyching yourself up.  “But if I so much as touch the ground unintentionally, you have to do all of my chores for a week.”</p><p>Reiner doubled over laughing at that before agreeing. “Deal.  But if you don’t touch the ground then you owe me.”</p><p>“What do you want?”  You ask, curious.  “I can do your chores if that’s what you’re after.”</p><p>Maybe it’s the moonlight playing tricks on you but you could have sworn you saw his cheeks tinge pink before he answers.  “That’s not quite what I-'' he cuts himself off, pausing to clear his throat.  “You know what? Let’s just jump right into this.”</p><p>“Here goes nothing,” you say, jumping off the tree limb.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. - babe, there's something lonesome about you -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>babe, there's something lonesome about you</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>The cool breeze whips your hair around and makes your eyes water.  Your body feels weightless as you propel through the trees.  You feel…free.  Oddly enough, flying through the trees is completely different from the ODM training back in the clearing.  Instead of being forced to maintain balance for extended periods of time, this forced you to constantly readjust your center of gravity.  You fell into an easy rhythm after the first ten minutes.  Shooting cables became second nature instead of a conscious decision.  Picking a sturdy tree limb, you stop for a break.</p><p>“What did I tell you?”  Reiner said, dropping down next to you.  “You’re a natural!”</p><p>Your heart is beating out of your chest from the adrenaline rush of flying.  “That was amazing!” You yell, throwing your arms around him.  If Reiner was shocked by the impromptu hug, he didn’t show it.  Instead he slung an arm around your shoulders and ruffled your hair.  </p><p>“Hands on practice was all you needed,” he says, pulling away to smile at you.  “Now what do you say we go get some sleep so you can ace that ODM test tomorrow morning?”</p><p>You shook your head.  “Can’t we stay out just a little longer?” you pleaded.  </p><p>Reiner hummed as he busied himself with checking out his ODM gear and harness. “I suppose we could stay out for a little while longer without getting caught.”</p><p>“Thanks Reiner, it means a lot to m-” your sentence trails off as Reiner drops to a knee in front of you.  He begins inspecting the ODM harness straps at your thighs and knees. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“I could have sworn one of your straps wasn’t on right,” he murmured before standing back up.  “It looks normal, but just to be safe, take it easy.  Don’t try any crazy maneuvers.”</p><p>“Whatever you say,” you respond as you survey the area around you.  “Which way should we go?  The barracks are to our South but there’s supposed to be a lake just East of here.”</p><p>“I’ll follow you whichever path you chose.”</p><p>Grinning ear to ear, you jump off the tree limb.  “You better!”  </p><p>The blond follows you through the trees as you set out for the lake.  Thankfully the moon was bright enough to give you some visibility of what laid ahead.  The lake turned out to be a ten minute trip from the tree you and Reiner had stopped at.  You drop off near the shoreline and flop onto the ground with a dramatic sigh.  Folding your arms behind your head, you lay on your back and gaze up at the night sky.  Reiner joins you seconds later, and sits down next to you.</p><p>“Isn’t it beautiful here?” You ask, reaching up towards the sky as if you could pull a star down.  “I haven’t had a chance to watch the stars since I was home.”</p><p>“I’ve never stargazed,” Reiner admitted. You glanced from the sky to the man next to you.  He was leaning back, his legs crossed and arms supporting his weight.</p><p>“You’ve never been stargazing?” You’re absolutely shocked at that.  “What about back home before you came to training?”</p><p>He shook his head.  “You can’t really see stars like this where I’m from.”</p><p>“Oh. Well since this is your first time, you better do it right,” you say before rolling to your side to look at him.  “You need to fix your stance or else you’ll get a crick in your neck.”  </p><p>He obediently shuffles to mimic the position you’re in.  “What now?”</p><p>“Relax and look up.”  A moment of silence falls between the two of you as you stare up at the night sky.  “Hey Reiner,” you whisper to get his attention.  </p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“Do you ever wonder if there’s other people out there?”  </p><p>“Like in the sky?”  He asks.</p><p>“In general.  What if we aren’t the last of humanity?”</p><p>“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head during training?”  Reiner chuckled.  “You’re starting to sound like Armin there.”  </p><p>You let out a laugh and roll over to shove at Reiner’s arm and shoulder.  “You can’t let me have one crisis can you?” You whine.  “I’m trying to have a moment here.”  </p><p>Reiner shields himself from your half-hearted blows before returning the favor.  He rolls over to cage you in his arms and playfully messes up your hair as payback.  You attempt to shove him off, but Reiner is solid.  Abandoning your previous tactics, you pull your knees to your chest, pressing your feet into his chest.  With a solid push of your feet, you manage to throw him off before pouncing.  The two of you roll around the bank of the lake, laughing until you manage to tire out.  </p><p>You end up with Reiner laying face up, your head cushioned by his forearm.  You both are breathing heavy, completely out of breath.  Turning your head to look at his form,  you see that he has been staring at you the entire time.  You feel him tense up and panic, thinking that you ruined the moment.  Instead of getting up, Reiner instead adjusts you so that your head is neatly tucked into his shoulder.</p><p>“Y/N, you know how Armin keeps talking about that ocean?” </p><p>You hum in agreement, too tired to formulate words.</p><p>“If we ever manage to rid the world of titans, let’s go there.”  His words came out so soft that you could hardly make them out.  All you could hear clearly was the steady thumping of his heartbeat.  Your head was swimming as you basked in the warmth coming from the man next to you.  Trying to find the willpower to resist sleep, you murmur something incoherent in response and press your nose into the fabric of his shirt.  “You gotta wake up so we can go back,” Reiner says, moving his shoulder to try and wake you.</p><p>“Five more minutes,” you mumble, “I earned it.”</p><p>“Okay, but I’m timing you sweetheart.”  </p><p>Reiner smiles as he watches you drift off to sleep.  He waits for you to fall into a deep sleep before shimmying out from underneath you and cradling your form in his arms.  There was no way he could wake you up, he wouldn’t forgive himself.</p><p>-</p><p>“Y/N wake up!”</p><p>You sit up in bed, rubbing your eyes.  “Where am I?”</p><p>Krista is leaning over your bed, shaking you awake.  “You slept through breakfast, get up!  We have to be in the clearing in ten minutes.”  Instantly you jump out of bed and rush around the room to get ready.  All the while, Krista lectures you about overworking yourself.  “I can’t believe you overdid it so hard that Reiner had to carry you back,” she says, arms crossed.  “If he wasn’t the-”</p><p>“He what?!”</p><p>“Carried you back,” she answers hesitantly.  “Last night I woke up to him tucking you into bed.  He asked me to let you sleep for a little later than normal cause you worked so hard on ODM last night.”</p><p>You’re blushing and cover your hands over your face.  <em> I can’t believe I fell asleep on him last night, I’m so embarrassed. </em>  </p><p>“It was so sweet,” Krista gushed.  “He couldn’t fly with you unconscious so he walked the entire way here with you in his arms-”</p><p>“Don’t tell me I have to break someone’s arms,” Ymir says as she enters the room, cutting off Krista’s speech.  “Gotta get rid of the competition if you’re this worked up over that bumbling idiot.”  She picks Krista up and tosses the small blonde over her shoulder. </p><p>“Ymir it’s not like that!  Let me down!”  Krista whines. “I’m just happy that Y/N and Reiner are finally having a moment!”</p><p>Ymir chuckles, “Nope.  I’m gonna make sure your happy ass gets to training on time cause I don’t want you to run laps.  Can’t have you all worn out before date night.”</p><p>You slip your boots on quickly and follow the two out of the barracks.  Every other cadet is already on the field, waiting for Shadis to arrive.  As you enter the clearing, you make eye contact with Reiner.  He’s standing by the table of gear and gives you a wink when he sees you.  </p><p>You panic as the memories from last night rush back.</p><hr/><p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. - something so wholesome about you -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> something so wholesome about you </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Well I guess your asses aren’t as worthless as I thought!”  Shadis yelled.  “Those of you who passed will be broken into groups for ODM Training in the woods!  The rest of you maggots can pack your bags!”</p><p>You let out a sigh of relief that you didn’t realize you had been holding.  “Holy shit,” you say, “I can’t believe I managed to pass.”  </p><p>Armin claps you on the back with a quick grin.  “We knew you could do it.  Eren on the other hand…”  Armin trailed off as he glanced in Eren’s direction.  The brunette was flailing his arms around as he dramatically retold his fellow cadets how he was a master of the wires for balancing on a malfunctioned belt.  “I can’t believe he didn’t notice his clip was broken.”</p><p>“You’d think his inability to recognize faulty gear would knock him down a peg,” you grimace.</p><p>“I guess we should let him have this win,” Armin laughed.  “He knocked himself out hitting the ground in front of the entire 104th Cadet Class two times.”  The two of you share a chuckle as you gaze fondly at Eren’s celebration.</p><p>Mikasa was standing with you and Armin, eerily quiet given the excited that you all had passed your initial ODM exam.  You clear your throat, “You good there, Mikasa?”</p><p>She simply shrugged as she watched Eren.  “He’s a fool who’s going to get himself killed.” </p><p>“Don’t you think you’re being a little too hard on him?” you ask.  “I mean, we all die someday, he just wants to go out fighting.”  Instead of replying, Mikasa walked away from you and Armin, grabbing Eren by the ear and dragging him away from his group.</p><p>“We should go see what group Shadis put us in,” Armin said.  “I’d rather not show up at the wrong place.”  You nodded and followed Armin back to the mess hall.  Shadis had his second in command post up the list of groups.  Almost all of the cadets were crowded around, looking to see if they had been placed with their friends.</p><p>“Hey y/n!”  Your eyes are drawn to Ymir’s figure, standing at the front of the crowd.  “They put us together kid!”  </p><p>You give her a thumbs up to show you heard and push through the crowd to stand with Ymir and Krista.  “I can’t believe we were separated,” Krista complains, sighing as she reads her companions.  “At least I got put with Mikasa and Eren.”</p><p>“I’m sorry Krista, I guess we’ll just have to wait for absence to make the heart grow fonder,” Ymir jokes as she pulled Krista into a side hug.</p><p>“Ymir, who all is with us?”  You ask.</p><p>“No one in particular,” she shrugs.  “All I know is out of all the group leaders, we got stuck with Shadis himself.”  You wince at that.  Out of all the commanding officers running the training camp, Shadis was easily the most terrifying.  He had made numerous people retreat to work in the fields after the first day alone.  On top of that, nearly fifteen recruits quit after failing their ODM testing today.</p><p>“I guess we better head over to meet him then,” you sigh.  “Let’s get this over with.”</p><p>Ymir shrugs and follows you out from the crowd, Krista tucked into her side.  It would be weird to see one of them training without the other.  They’ve been nearly inseparable since day one.  Even though Ymir wasn’t assigned to Krista’s dorm, she often snuck in to keep Krista company.  Neither Sasha nor you questioned it when the tall woman would show up late at night with some sort of food stolen from the mess hall as a peace offering.  Ymir may be blunt and rude at times, but she always brought yourself and Sasha some sort of compensation for crashing at your dorm.</p><p>You all walk towards the clearing to meet up with your groups and Krista breaks off from you to walk over to where Mikasa and Eren are standing.  You and Ymir walk over to where Shadis is talking to a tall recruit you recognized as Bertholdt.  The two stop talking as you arrive and Bert gives you both a nod in greeting.</p><p>“Where’s the last of you pipsqueaks?”  Shadis asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.  “It really did take everyone long enough to figure their shit out.”</p><p>Bert nods before speaking up.  “To be fair sir, a lot of the recruits never learned to read.  I believe Reiner and Sasha were still helping cadets find their groups.”</p><p>“Fucking titans took Wall Maria and the damned education system with it,” Shadis complained.  “When I was your age, every cadet knew how to read and write.  I’ll have it added to the curriculum.”  You were a little surprised at that.  Shadis was a complete asshole, so why did he care if his cadets were literate?  He acted like you were all cattle to feed the titans anyway.</p><p>Footsteps pulled you away from your thoughts and you looked up to see Reiner and Sasha jogging over to you.  You blush as soon as you lay eyes on Reiner and you elbow Ymir when you hear her snort out a laugh.  “Sorry we were late sir!”  Sasha said, standing at attention.  “Cadet Reiner and I were helping out by the group assignments, sir!”</p><p>“So I heard,” Shadis barked.  “Now let’s get this show on the road. I hope you kids paid attention during class, cause I will not hesitate to throw your asses off the nearest cliff!”</p><p>Everyone in the group laughs at that.  For the most part, everyone in Shadis’ group had a fairly good handle on the ODM gear.  Sasha and Bert were naturals. Ymir was skilled. And Reiner?  Reiner looked as though he had been flying through the trees since he was old enough to walk.  Your eyes drift to the blonde who was just a bit behind you as your group jogs to the same drop off you and Reiner jumped from last night.  His gaze caught yours and he caught up to you.</p><p>“Ready for this sweetheart?” Reiner asked, his voice low and gravely from what you could only assume was lack of sleep from the day before. </p><p>“Born ready,” you assure him with a smirk.  You both race ahead of Shadis to fling yourselves from the drop-off.  You let out a laugh as you hook a tree and zoom into the air. </p><p>“You must have had a great teacher!”  Reiner yells above the wind.</p><p>“The best!”  You yell back.  You both weaved through the trees with relative ease before dropping off on a branch to wait for the rest of your group.  Shadis and Bert joined you both a few seconds later with Sasha and Ymir dropping in after.</p><p>“Today we are working on some maneuvers and techniques,” Shadis announced.  “We reviewed them in class, however I will demonstrate before you practice.”  With that, he hopped off the branch.  You watched in amazement.  You assumed that Shadis was good since he was Commander of the Survey Corps before he retired to train cadets.  Seeing him in action was truly something else though.</p><p>“I guess the old man has some moves,” Ymir jokes. </p><p>Shadis drops down onto the tree limb agan.  “Cadet Hoover!” he yelled. “You’re up first!”  Bert nods and jumps out, letting the wires of his gear rip him through the air.  He is nowhere near as graceful as Shadis was, however the fact that he managed to execute the maneuver the first time was more than enough to prove how good he was.  Sasha and Ymir followed after him.  It took both of them a few tries, but they managed to successfully perform the stunt.</p><p>Reiner was the next to go and his technique was flawless.  He replicated Shadis’ form with little effort.  He skillfully managed to pull and release the ODM triggers while throwing his weight to the side to pull the tight turns required for the maneuver.  Reiner finished off the exercise by dropping underneath the tree limb on which you stood and using the wires to vault himself upward.  He released the triggers to pull back in the wires as he braced for landing.  </p><p>“Not bad.”  Shadis was even impressed by his performance.  “Cadet Y/N, get your ass out there and don’t disappoint!”</p><p>“No promises,” you mutter to yourself as you leap from the limb.  You felt semi-confident after your long session with Reiner last night and performing so well during the ODM exam.  Pulling the right trigger, you anchor a wire into a tree branch far above your head like Shadis had done.  After reaching about twenty meters up, you release the trigger and whip yourself hard to the right and descend in a twist before exiting the position five meters down.  You aim both of your wires to shoot up to slingshot yourself upward and regain your balance.  Both of your wires hook into the trees, however for some reason you don’t feel the familiar distribution of weight across the harness. Instead, the left side of your harness fails to absorb your weight and the difference causes you to lose your balance and grip on the triggers.</p><p>Plummeting to the ground in shock, you try to shoot out a trigger to catch yourself, but you can’t make it in time.  “Y/N!”  You hear someone call your name as you helplessly fall further.  A fall from this height was nothing to scoff at and you brace yourself for impact.  Just before you hit the ground, you hear wires whiz past your head.  A body slams into yours and tackles you to the side.  You and whoever saved you slam into the ground and roll roughly to the side.  It hurt, but thankfully the change in angle of your fall had managed to reduce your impact and land you in some bushes.  The body wrapped around you had absorbed most of the shock from the impact.</p><p>You groan as you shakily stand, shocked that you had escaped with no broken bones.  A grunt of pain draws your attention to the person who had saved you.  “Reiner you idiot!” you chide as you scramble to his side, “you could have gotten hurt!”  You busy yourself searching the blonde for any obvious wounds.  He hisses in pain as you graze his left forearm.</p><p>“I told you sweetheart,” Reiner groans in pain, “I’m never gonna let you hit the ground.”</p><p>You cradle his head as you help him sit up.  The rest of the group joins you on the ground.  “What the hell was that cadet?!”  Shadis yells, looking worried.  You fumble, unable to find an excuse for why your harness threw off your balance.  Glancing down, you see that a strap on your left thigh had snapped.  </p><p>“I think my gear malfunctioned,” you respond.</p><p>“I knew it looked off the other day,” Reiner wheezed.  “It must have been worn down and finally snapped when you tried to pull that move.”</p><p>“Between this and Eren’s belt, I will do more than crack some skulls at our warehouse,” Shadis grumbled.  “Class dismissed.  Cadet Y/N, get this kid to the nurse.”</p><p>You nod and help Reiner stand.  “Anything broken?” you ask softly.  Reiner shakes his head and you throw his good arm over your shoulder so that he can lean his weight onto your smaller frame as he limps forward with you.  “At least we aren’t too far from the medic station.”</p><p>“Sorry for crushing you,” Reiner apologizes.  “I should have just had Bert help me hobble there.”</p><p>“Nonsense!” you insist.  “You saved my life there, I owe you!”</p><p>Reiner chuckles as the two of you move forward.  His weight was grounding in a way.  The steady beating of his heart calmed you down after the crazy events that had just occurred.  “So I guess now that I’m an invalid, you get to take care of me,” Reiner jokes.</p><p>“Calm down there, we don’t even know that you broke something yet.” </p><p>“You save a girl one time and she won’t even pamper you for two minutes.”  Reiner sighs dramatically.  He stumbles and you instantly move so that your arm is around his waist, steadying him.  Thankfully, that is enough to stop the larger from falling.  You barely come up to his chest and he could envelope you in his arms with ease.  You ability to stop him from falling was a testament to either your strength or luck.</p><p>“Tell you what,” you offer, “if you managed to do any serious damage to yourself, then I’ll be your personal nurse until you heal.”</p><p>“I could only be so lucky.”</p><hr/><p> </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. - get closer to me -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>get closer to me</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Dammit!” Reiner hisses in pain as the medic prods at his wounded arm.  “Can I squeeze your hand while he finishes up?” Reiner asks you.  Any pain you had previously detected in his voice was completely gone, replaced by a mischievous tone.</p><p>“Stop being such a baby,” the medic chides.  “Last time you came in I gave you stitches and you didn’t flinch.  I know this isn’t hurting you.”</p><p>“Don’t sell me out like that doc,” Reiner laughs.  “I’m trying to get some sympathy here.”</p><p>You roll your eyes at that but still let him grasp your hand.  “So is he going to be ready to return to training tomorrow?”</p><p>The medic shook his head and began wrapping Reiner’s arm.  “I don’t think he broke anything, but I recommend he takes it easy for a few days.  From what Shadis has told me about your skills, Reiner, I don’t imagine a few days off would hurt you anyway.”</p><p>Reiner sighs, “Come on doc, you can’t expect me to just sit around and do nothing while everyone else trains.  That’s not fair to anyone.”</p><p>You kick his shin lightly.  “If the doctor says you need to take a few days off to recover, then you’re taking a few days off to recover dumbass.”</p><p>The medic finishes wrapping Reiner’s arm before putting it in a sling and kicking you both out of his office.  The two of you slowly walk towards the mess hall for supper.  The day had flown by fast after the accident happened in the forest earlier and most of the cadets had already eaten and left for the barracks.</p><p>“Hey Reiner,” you say softly, “thanks for saving me back there.”</p><p>“I couldn’t just let you fall.”</p><p>“I know, I just feel bad since you got hurt in the process.”  </p><p>“Trust me sweetheart, this is nothing compared to some of the things I’ve managed to do to myself.”  Reiner chuckles and throws his good arm around your shoulders.  “I was a clumsy kid growing up.”</p><p>You laugh, “You can’t tell me that you hurt yourself worse than this when you were little.”</p><p>“You’d be surprised,” he argued.  “I was a walking accident.”  It was a nice change to see his usual scowl turn into a laugh or smile.  Reiner never talked about his childhood, preferring to keep things insanely vague whenever it came up in conversation.  You shrug the thought off.  He probably blocked most of it out after Wall Maria fell.  It wasn’t an uncommon thing for people to do.  You had seen refugees back home so desperate to drown out the horrors they witnessed that they would block out everything.</p><p>“You okay there?” Reiner asked.  “You kind of spaced out on me there, sweetheart. </p><p>“I’m okay,” you assure him, “I was just thinking.”</p><p>“Try not to think too hard, you might get wrinkles with how hard you're scowling.”</p><p>“Reiner, I am training to fight titans.  I would think that wrinkles would be the last problem I have,”  you laugh as you gently hip bump him.</p><p>“Nurse Y/N,” Reiner begins, “since I’m your hero now, and I am completely incapable of taking care of myself after being put in harm's way to save a damsel in distress, I require some assistance eating.”</p><p>“I am not spoon feeding you.” You say flatly.</p><p>“Why not?”  He asked with a whine.  You’re in shock that a man his size and disposition could even make that noise.</p><p>“You have an arm that works.”</p><p>“It might work but it’s a little occupied.”  He said, squeezing you closer to his chest.</p><p>“Dear Wall Maria, you are insufferable.”  You chuckle. “Fine, but when you’re wearing more food than you’ve eaten, you might regret your decision.”</p><p>“Cadet Y/N, did you just imply you were going to make a mess of me?” Reiner asked salaciously, with a wink.  His voice dropped into what you could only compare to a near purr.</p><p>“I think you hit the ground a little too hard back there,” you joke and you lightly slap his shoulder.  “One more word out of you and I’ll Eren hand feed you.  The kid practically worships the ground you walk on, he would probably kill to feed you.”</p><p>“You wouldn’t dare.”</p><p>“Try me.”</p><p>The two of you break out into a laugh and Reiner doubles over in pain, breathing heavily through gritted teeth.  You squat down, cradling his jaw gently in both of your hands.  Your thumb rubs soothing circles on his cheek. “Hey,” you begin softly, “are you still with me?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he wheezes, his eyes drifting to lock with yours. “It just hurt to laugh though.”  </p><p>It’s as if the air is knocked out of you.  The playful mood drops as you both realize your faces are barely a few inches apart.  The two of you are hardly speaking above a whisper.  Reiner’s injured hand travels to cover your hand that rests on his jaw.  He holds your hand in place and moves his head to press a soft kiss to your palms, his eyes closing.    </p><p>“Reiner.”  You breathe out his name, your voice barely audible.</p><p>It’s as if your voice jogged him back into reality.  His eyes jolted open and he stumbled back up to his full height, dropping your hand.  “I-”  Reiner stutters to find his words, “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate of me.”</p><p>You were confused, it was like the man in front of you was a completely different person.  The playful lift to his tone had completely disappeared.  His voice was monotone, and his jaw set hard. You shiver as you try to meet his eyes.  You do the only thing you can think of, lighten the mood.</p><p>You playfully nudge Reiner.  “Let’s go get Jaeger to spoon feed you some broth,” you tease.  “I’m sure you both would love that.”</p><p>“Y/N, I would rather run until sunset for Shadis then let Jaeger feed me,” Reiner laughed.  Any trace of his previous seriousness was gone.</p><p>Your brow furrowed and a shiver crawled down your spine.  It was like he had become a completely different person for a second.  The passive and emotionless look in his eyes had been eerie.  You try to brush it off.  You had to be overreacting, right?  Maybe he genuinely thought he had made you uncomfortable.  Still, it was hard to shake the discomfort. </p><p>Offering Reiner your elbow for balance, you escort him to the dining hall and take a place at an empty table.  Reiner lets you feed him, his flirtatious personality had returned and it was as if that lasps had never happened.  </p><p>Reiner talks to fill the silence as you begin eating your portion, and you can’t help but zone out.  Your eyes drift across the mess hall to see Bertholdt and Annie staring at the two of you.  Bertholdt looks nervous, but Annie’s gaze is unsettling.  It was the same angry and empty look that was in Reiner’s eyes earlier.</p><hr/><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. - no tight side, no rolling eyes, no irony -</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>no tight side, no rolling eyes, no irony</em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got one more round in you sweetheart?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sweat drips down your cheek as you gaze up at Reiner through thick lashes.  He’s smirking as he raises a brow at you.  You allow your gaze to wander along his figure, tracing down from his face to his bulging biceps.  He had changed so much from the young man you met three years ago.  Reiner had somehow gotten bigger, if that was even possible.  He now towered over you and the other cadets with the exception of Bert. Though Berthold was still a few centimeters taller, Reiner easily dwarfed him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reiner holds out a hand to help you up from the ground and you bat it away in favor of lunging at his throat.  You had succeeded in throwing him off guard and he stumbled back.  Taking advantage of his disorientation you sit on his chest and grip his wrists in your one hand, holding them above his head.  The other hand grips the small wooden dagger, holding it up to his throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re getting slow in your old age Reiner,” you tease as you try to catch your breath.  You were training in hand to hand combat today and had initially jumped at the chance to work with your best friend.  He was King Midas and could turn every training exercise he touched to gold.  You had hoped that he would help you improve, however, after getting your ass handed to you for the past hour you weren’t sure of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reiner struggled against your grip, and you can’t help but smugly taunt him by tightening your grip on his wrists.  “You ready to yield?” You ask.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now why would I do a thing like that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You pretend to think about his question, leaning down to press your forehead against his.  “Because you seem to be at a disadvantage.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On the contrary,” he smirked, “I have you exactly where I want you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before you have the chance to open your mouth to respond, Reiner breaks out of your grip.  It’s almost pathetic how easily he wrenches his wrists from your hand.  He whips up from his position, and you find yourself shifted from your perch on his chest to his lap.  You stammer and almost lose your confidence.  You push the wooden knife into his neck, “I still have the advantage.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His gaze darkens and he laughs, “Now what to do about that silly little weapon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reiner grips onto the wrist that holds the knife to his throat and twists it behind your back as he tosses you from his lap.  You grunt as you hit the ground, your head to the side to keep from tasting dirt.  Reiner has one hand locked on the back of your neck, holding you down, and the other keeps your weapon hand twisted against your back.  He is kneeling overtop of you with both knees on either side of your hips to keep you from bucking up to throw him off.  You gast at his closeness, and he leans down, lips ghosting over the shell of your ear. His breath tickles your face as he whispers.  “What were you saying about that advantage?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay asshole,” you whine, “you made your point.  Let me up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” he laughs playfully, sitting back up, “I don’t think I will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You squirm beneath him, trying to catch a spot of weakness to exploit.  Unfortunately for you, he has none.  “Come on Reiner, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not too good at begging,” Reiner says. “It doesn’t seem like you really want up that bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a dick,” you hiss out through gritted teeth. “When I get out of this, I will not hesitate to throw all of your shoes into the lake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reiner laughs in response and tighten his grip to stop you from moving further.  “I take that back, you’re awful at begging.  Maybe if you ask me nicely enough, I’ll let you up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You groan in frustration. “Fine, can you please let me up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hums as he thinks it over.  “Not good enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please let me up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can do better than that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pretty please let me up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, that’s just lazy,” he admonishes with a laugh.  “You know exactly what to say, and I’m not gonna let you go until I hear it.”</span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“Don’t make me say it,” you whine.  </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll even say it with you to get you started,” Reiner promises.  “Say it with me-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please let me up Reiner, I yield.”  You cut him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m sorry that I helped Ymir switch out your gear with Armin’s, but in my defense it was a little funny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He groaned and got up, helping you from the ground.  “It wasn’t!  I thought my pants shrunk!  I literally could not get them above mid thigh, you made me go get extras from supply while wrapped in a blanket.  I looked ridiculous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You snort and laugh at that.  Last week you had helped Ymir pranked Reiner in return for her sneaking some alcohol in the camp from town.  You were planning a picnic for Reiner and yourself in celebration of the upcoming cadet graduation and Ymir had demanded help in her prank as payment.  The mental image of a shirtless Reiner, blanket wrapped around his waist, walking from the bunks to supply had been more of a reward than payment.  But, in the end you had a bottle of wine to go with the dinner you had planned.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you took that out on me during training,” you say, hitting his chest lightly.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” he teased, “I took it easy on you right up until that last round.  I even let you pin me for a bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you took me off guard there.  But you could barely fit my wrists in one hand, let alone maintain the strength to hold me down.”  He observes.  “Next time we can work on ways to incapacitate your opponent that don’t require as much strength.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You frown, kicking at a rock on the ground.  This was the first time you managed to pin him and you seriously thought that you had gotten him.  It kind of sucked to know that he was pretending to be restrained.  Reiner seems to notice your shift in mood and tries to cheer you up.  “Don’t look so down sweetheart,” he says as he throws an arm around your shoulders.  “You did really well today and you’ve improved so much from the first time.  I’ll probably have some nasty bruises later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two of you meander back from the training field to the barracks.  You’re tucked comfortably into his side, a familiar position from the past few years.  The two of you were sticky with sweat and uncomfortably warm from the training session, but neither seemed to care.  “What time do you want to meet up tonight?” You ask him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking we could clean up and head out after we do equipment checks,” he says.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good,” you say as you roll onto your tiptoes to kiss his cheek.  “Meet me outside the barracks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am,” he says before leaning down to place a swift kiss on your lips.  That soft peck turns into several until you find yourself ordering him to go clean up for your date tonight. </span>
</p><hr/><p> </p>
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